No abstract

To solve the problem of low efficiency and colour distortion in several typical tone mapping operators for high dynamic range (HDR) images, the authors propose a novel tone mapping algorithm based on fast image decomposition and multi‐layer fusion. An input HDR image is firstly decomposed into a base layer and a detail layer by an improved guided filtering method. For the base layer, its dynamic range is compressed by the simulated camera response function. For the detail layer, it is enhanced to produce more fine structures and reduce halo effect by applying the guided image filter. The colour balance correction method is adopted to suppress colour distortion. The experiments on HDR images demonstrate that the proposed technique could bring better brightness, contrast, and visibility with less halo effect than other state‐of‐the‐art methods both qualitatively and quantitatively in most cases.

Quantization of images containing low texture regions, such as sky, water or skin, can produce banding artifacts. As the bitdepth of each color channel is decreased, smooth image gradients are transformed into perceivable, wide, discrete bands. Commonly used quality metrics cannot reliably measure the visibility of such artifacts. In this paper we introduce a visual model for predicting the visibility of both luminance and chrominance banding artifacts in image gradients spanning between two arbitrary points in a color space. The model analyzes the error introduced by quantization in the Fourier space, and employs a purpose-built spatio-chromatic contrast sensitivity function to predict its visibility. The output of the model is a detection probability, which can be then used to compute the minimum bit-depth for which banding artifacts are just-noticeable. We demonstrate that the model can accurately predict the results of our psychophysical experiments.